Monthly Archives: May 2019

The U.S. housing market may not be synonymous with the business cycle, as a famous 2007 paper proclaimed , but the ups and downs in housing, which represents a big part of the economy, usually do offer hints about what’s going on more broadly. That’s...

Declining mortgage rates led to an increase in lower-risk refinance transactions In April, the nation’s mortgage defect risk edged down as interest rates continued to decline, according to the latest First American Loan Application Defect Index. Acc...

Buying a home for the first time - or the first time in a long time - can be an intimidating prospect. For one thing, it's a big expense. Luckily, there are lots of first-time homebuyer programs out there to help ease the financial burden a little. To...

Mortgage rates were mixed today. The average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady, but the average rate on a 15-year fixed trended down. The average rate on 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, the most popular type of variable rate mortga...

Be as happy with your mortgage as you are with your new home With the peak spring-summer home buying season in high gear, first-time home buyers are stressed. Finding that dream home in today’s market where affordability is beyond a challenge is often...

It's not breaking news that student loans are keeping millennials and members of Generation Z in debt. In fact, the Federal Reserve credits about 20% of the recent decline in homeownership to the climbing rates of college debt. But it doesn’t necessa...

This year’s plunge in mortgage rates is giving Americans an incentive to upgrade to pricier houses. Take loan officer Clint Gerke’s client in Salem, Ore. The single mother is just fine with her current home., but she’s selling anyway so she can look f...

Home shoppers signed 1.5% fewer contracts to buy existing homes in April compared with March, according to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index. Sales were 2% lower compared with April 2018, the 16th straight month of annual ...

Q: I was trying to buy a house, but my loan fell through, and the seller does not want to return my deposit. How can I buy the house if I can't get the credit? – Mary A: When you sign the typical purchase contract, you and the seller will make the con...

If you’re eager to jump into real estate investing, look before you leap, recommends Oliver Somoza, the founder of Turnkey Property Pro in Philadelphia. The best thing you can do is to take your time and do a lot of research on your local market condi...